BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana National Guard members continued to assist state and parish officials by building levees and providing traffic security as the Morganza Spillway was opened to relieve pressure from the swollen Mississippi River in southeast Louisiana, May 14.
After a request by city officials, Louisiana Guard members have been preparing an improved levee that will total approximately 10,000 linear feet of sand-filled HESCO baskets and “super bags” in Krotz Springs.
Guard members from the 139th Regional Support Group and the 225th Engineer Brigade, in cooperation with local, state and federal agencies, responded quickly to the request, and began arriving at the build site of the levee May 11.
Liaison officer for the project, Army Sgt. 1st Class Lloydd Martin of the 756th Area Support Medical Company, says the goal is to build a solid wall to provide a secondary barrier for more than 240 homes, a power substation and refinery.
This protection, said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, will be necessary to ease the pressure further down the Mississippi River.
“When it comes to this response, it’s a Soldier mission … a Guard mission,” said Martin.
The support from the community has been a huge asset in accomplishing the mission, he said.
“They have really gone out of their way to be courteous to us, all the while protecting our homes,” said Jannette Ellis, a resident of the community. “I can’t say thank you enough to these guys.”
The Guard’s military police also assisted state police with traffic control points before and during the opening of the Morganza Spillway to ensure citizens were safe and informed of the event.
Army Spc. Seth Henderson, a member of the 239th Military Police Company, said the mission is to assist not only the local authorities, but the citizens as well, with directions and providing information.
“Being able to help out people I know, people from my community … it’s why I joined the National Guard,” said Henderson.
“The Louisiana National Guard has been very instrumental in the past few days preparing this area with levee inspections, barrier construction and traffic control,” said Nancy Allen of the Corps of Engineers. “We are just grateful for all the help.”
In Concordia Parish, one of the missions for Guard members three has been walking the 72-miles of levees that protect its residents from the swelling Mississippi River.
For about a week and a half, Guard members have been working in 11-to-12 hour shifts to monitor the levee 24-hours a day in search for sand boils and seepage which could weaken the levees if left unattended.
The Louisiana Guard has identified about 100 sand boils in northeast Louisiana, said Guard officials.